Is U.K. wild camping a blokey thing?

[Moped]

I have noticed on our travels that in the U.K. a majority of those who park up wild camping style in smaller motorhomes and camper vans tend to be single men.

Less so in Europe but then it’s easier to park up there anyway and like others we go south as a couple to avoid harsh northern winters and damp variable British summers. I don’t know if official aires and parking spots count as wild camping but we tend to use these anyway if off grid. I suppose if we parked in the wilds and hinterland I may have noted more single men in smaller vehicles.

Certainly Mrs Moped prefers camp site parking anyway and maybe security and safety for women has something to do with this. If I am on my own which occasionally I am during the off peak season November to March then I do go out of my way to look for reasonable wild camping spots with the few campsites that are open being used for overnight stops if I need services or a battery top up. We do have a large Motorhome that does stand out when parked up.

I had thought about getting a small cheap camper van to make this side of things easier. It would be instead of a car and I would more than likely go away more on my own which may or may not please Mrs Moped but she seems content to baby sit grand children which I am not. She is always whatsapping and FaceTiming family when we are away giving the impression she is not 100% committed to our trips and basically I go away to escape the demands of family.

That’s an aside however.

So getting back to the point of U.K. wild camping being a blokey thing, what do forum members think?

Is it more of a single man thing or are there ladies and couples who do a higher proportion of U.K. wild camping than camp site use in their camper or motorhome?

 

[Biggarmac]

As someone who often wilds alone abroad I find its not often what I do in the UK. Normally here I will go to places where there is an honesty box for donations or to CL and CS minimum facility sites.
Abroad it seems more ok to just park up.
Meg
PS I'm on a CAMpRA aire in Aberdeenshire as I type this. Only van here.

 

[alcam]

As someone who often wilds alone abroad I find its not often what I do in the UK. Normally here I will go to places where there is an honesty box for donations or to CL and CS minimum facility sites.
Abroad it seems more ok to just park up.
Meg

Think solo women travellers mostly feel the same .
When talking to couples it is clear women are not so keen on wild camping .
There are always exceptions. I've heard there are some wild women out there!

 

[trevskoda]

Cannot emagine any daft sod having a go at Campervanannie, she would be after them like a jack russel down a rat hole.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Think solo women travellers mostly feel the same .
When talking to couples it is clear women are not so keen on wild camping .
There are always exceptions. I've heard there are some wild women out there!

"Family Responsibilities". Women have always tended to shoulder the burden of responsibility with the latter. Men have a tendency to do what they want to do regardless. Note I have used the word "tendency". Call it a massive generalisation if you like, but "traditionally" that's the pattern of operation I've observed between the majority of couples all my life.

But I don't have kids, ergo no grandkids. I genuinely like kids, in fact I often prefer their company to adults. They are often way more sensible to talk to(!) (but I couldn't eat a whole one...)

Most of my friends would go to the ends of the earth to protect and assist their children, no matter what age they are. It's perfectly natural. And I think it's a common complaint for grandparents that they often have no time to spend on their own interests. I guess that goes with the territory. But if folk didn't want that sort of responsibility maybe they shouldn't have gone down that route in the first place?

As for the "solo travellers" bit, I would suggest that it takes confidence more than any other attribute to be able to travel alone.

Me and my other half are equally happy camping together or going off independently on our own.

Maybe the OP should just accept that his wife is more inclined to spend time with grandkids etc. and just get on with camping on his own?

Unless there's an ulterior motive behind asking about how many solo women campers are out there... ?!

 

[campervanannie]

I tend to mix it up these days staying at CLs, campra sites, official sites and wilding, but I think the op is right as most I come across when wilding seem to be lone men or retired couples I have come across very few females wilding on their own though I know lots of females that have their own vans I think they tend to stick to the safety of festivals and CLs and small rural sites.

 

[Debroos]

I'm a female who loves wild camping! I don't think I would do it on my own though but it would also depend where.
We don't seem to wildcamp in England any more anyway. Just use cls and C's sites.
I think there are spots in Ireland and Scotland I think I would do it....

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Liz absolutely refuses (as do I) to stay on a campsite, we did at first in the tent but only for showers and laundering etc, since getting a van, we've been on two sites, Sligachan but it was closed and too dark to go searching for somewhere, and last year we went on one to use the facilities, not realising you had to be a member but they let us anyway so twice since 2006.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I'm a female who loves wild camping! I don't think I would do it on my own though but it would also depend where.
We don't seem to wildcamp in England any more anyway. Just use cls and C's sites.
I think there are spots in Ireland and Scotland I think I would do it....

I put a load of POIs on the app for Ireland last month.

 

[Debroos]

I put a load of POIs on the app for Ireland last month.

We use the motorhome craic app a lot

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I couldn't make sense of it but the one with a four in it worked well.

 

[Debroos]

I couldn't make sense of it but the one with a four in it worked well.

The motorhomecraic one wouldn't work properly when trying to browse it from this country but was fine when we got there. Their original one that was on their website was much better though.
What is the one with a 4 in it?

 

[Pudsey Bear]

The motorhomecraic one wouldn't work properly when trying to browse it from this country but was fine when we got there. Their original one that was on their website was much better though.
What is the one with a 4 in it?

I did try it there but had got used to the other one, also has search in it.

 

[campervanannie]

I'm a female who loves wild camping! I don't think I would do it on my own though but it would also depend where.
We don't seem to wildcamp in England any more anyway. Just use cls and C's sites.
I think there are spots in Ireland and Scotland I think I would do it....

There are plenty of safe and beautiful wild parking spots in England I know I use plenty of them on my own and with my other half Bill I don’t wild camp as much these days but not because of fear of being off the beaten track but more a fear of becoming ill while on my own in an isolated place so I tend to make sure of a few things
1) I feel safe
2) I park so I cannot get blocked in by another vehicle
3) I have a good phone signal
4) I sleep with a rounders bat under my pillow
other than that I’m good to go in all the years I have been wilding I have only ever had cause for concern and it was in the village of Cheddar local youths (12/16yr olds) came banging on the van and rocking it late at night as they run off I took photos of them and then I went on the local Facebook page for Cheddar locals and put up full description of these little scroates asking if anyone recognised them to please have a word with their parents to know what their little darlings are up to at 2am in the morning.

 

[Debroos]

I did try it there but had got used to the other one, also has search in it.

So do you have the name of the one with a 4 in it and and a search in it ?

 

[Pudsey Bear]

So do you have the name of the one with a 4 in it and and a search in it ?

Indeed, but I have to be cryptic as the boss takes a dim view of advertising other apps so I'll have to PM you.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Indeed, but I have to be cryptic as the boss takes a dim view of advertising other apps so I'll have to PM you.

Not sure but I think it "scrubs out" in the PMs too, Kev.

You'll have to write in longhand

 

[Pudsey Bear]

better not do.

 

[Nabsim]

It’s very rare that I will stop on a site, almost exclusively lay by, byways quite spots out the way etc. Caz will do an odd night off grid but prefers sites or meet type things but since we got the house in Hull and she in close to the kids it’s rare she goes in the van. She did drive down to the drove in June supposedly for a night and ended up 7 days though so not totally against

I am usually in the van on my own (well, 2 small dogs) for a good 10 months of the year just going home for visits and appointments. I can’t abide being stuck at the house very long, like to wake up in the countryside.

Because of the places I park most of the people I meet are full timers, many couldn’t afford to stop on even the cheapest site. There are a lot more solo men that I see but maybe a third are solo women.

 

[Nabsim]

Not sure but I think it "scrubs out" in the PMs too, Kev.

You'll have to write in longhand

Or put a space between letters